I was thrilled last week to have been given the chance to write a piece about being a doubting Christian for the Washington Post’s On Faith section, as one of their “Guest Voices.” It was linked from the WashingtonPost.com’s front page on Sunday (right under a Chelsea Clinton wedding feature) and brought a lot of traffic this direction.

To those of you who ended up here from the column’s link, welcome.

To those of you who didn’t read the column, here’s a quick excerpt:

Why is doubt so taboo? Biblical commands to “believe and not doubt”
(James 1:6) are culprits, although it helps to read them alongside the
stories of heroes like Abraham, David, and the disciples–who asked
direct, honest questions without any smiting-based repercussions.

Another problem is our need to belong. Christianity can be an
appearance-driven culture just like high school or the country club.
People want to fit in. When you’re around happy, smiling churchgoers who
speak of God’s constant activity in their lives, it’s hard to admit you
don’t experience quite so personal a deity, and that recent discoveries
in neuroscience give you pause, and why doesn’t the problem of evil
keep everyone else up at night like it does me?

You can read the full column here.